London Heathrow Scraps Almost 400 Flights as Snow Hits U.K.

London’s Heathrow airport, the
busiest in Europe, canceled 395 flights or 30 percent of the
total scheduled and said others would be delayed as heavy
snowfalls swept across southern Britain.

Services are alternating between the hub’s two runways to
allow for plowing, and people due to fly today should check with
their airline before setting out, Heathrow Ltd. said. London
City Airport closed briefly and Paris Charles de Gaulle will
scrap a fifth of flights this evening as the snow spreads east.

The U.K. Met Office issued a “red” alert for Wales,
warning that some areas might have as much as 30 centimeters (12
inches) of snow. British Airways, Heathrow’s biggest operator,
scrapped mainly short-haul flights to cities including Paris,
Barcelona and Berlin, though a trip to New York was also called
off. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. said it was suffering delays.

“We are keeping our schedule under constant review and
will adjust it further if we need to,” British Airways said.
“If customers no longer wish to travel between Friday and
Sunday they can rebook their flight to a later date.”

Trains Impacted

Rail disruption also spread throughout the day, with Virgin
Trains canceling some services on routes such as London to
Manchester, joining companies including Stagecoach Group Plc (SGC)’s
South West Trains and Abellio’s Greater Anglia in paring
timetables to minimize disruption.

Eurostar Group Ltd., whose trains to London from Paris and
Brussels have been brought to a halt during previous snowfalls,
preemptively canceled four services and lowered speed limits.

London’s transport network was also hit, with delays on the
Overground commuter lines, though there were only minor issues
on the city’s Underground subway system as of 4:30 p.m.

Virgin Atlantic, a long-haul specialist, hadn’t had to drop
any trips as of this afternoon, spokeswoman Anna Catchpole said.

Blizzards

Earlier in the day, Cardiff and Southampton airports
scrapped flights as the blizzards swept in from the west.

Gatwick, London’s second-busiest hub, is operating normally
after 5 centimeters of snow fell on its single runway, with a
handful of inbound flights scrapped because of disruption
elsewhere. Stansted, the No. 3, said it’s not suffering any
problems, while Luton, headquarters of low-cost carrier Easyjet
Plc (EZJ), reported only brief delays for snow clearance.

London City, favored by business travelers, resumed flights
after being closed for about 90 minutes for the removal of snow
this morning. The runway remains open, though with some delays
and cancellations, spokeswoman Geraldine Nolan said.

Gatwick has spent 8 million pounds ($13 million) on snow
measures since 2010, boosting the fleet of plows and brushes to
98 vehicles. It also has enough de-icing fluid for 10 days, and
43 non-operational staff trained to help keep the runway clear.

“It’s snowing and it’s accumulating, but the runway and
taxiways have been treated with de-icer and we are currently
operating as normal,” the airport, located south of London and
owned by Global Infrastructure Partners LP, said in a statement.

Germany, France

Thousands of homes in Wales were without power after
supplies were cut by the snow, and as many as 400 schools have
closed on the Isle of Wight and in Hampshire, southern England,
according to the British Broadcasting Corp.

Temperatures in the U.K. are likely to remain around zero
in London, the Met Office said, with the national forecaster
warning of widespread icy roads.

Snowfalls yesterday led to hundreds of flight cancellations
in Germany and Austria, curtailing service by carriers including
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA), Europe’s second-biggest.

Munich airport scrapped 120 flights today, at least half as
a knock-on from 345 cancellations yesterday, when runways were
cleared a record eight times. Frankfurt airport, owned by
Fraport AG, lost 30 services -- mostly to Munich, London and
Hamburg -- versus about 40 yesterday, while Vienna scrapped 25
this morning and said the situation should normalize later.

A security-guard strike in Hamburg led to the cancellation
of 63 out of 176 scheduled flights. Only three of 40 security
lanes were in operation and airlines didn’t wait for passengers,
with as many as 12,000 people unable to fly as booked.

In France, the civil aviation authority aimed to ground 20
percent of flights at Charles de Gaulle and 10 percent at Paris
Orly from 4 p.m. local time in anticipation of heavy snow this
afternoon and overnight, it said in a statement.